


Not Alone

by HooleQuinn



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Insecure Peter Parker, Insecure Steve Rogers, M/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Has Nightmares, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Stuffed Toys, Teddy Bears, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:27:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22617874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HooleQuinn/pseuds/HooleQuinn
Summary: “Captain America sleeps with a teddy bear??”“Not all the time. But Captain America is still susceptible to fear and loneliness just like anyone else."OrPeter has been having nightmares, and Steve & Tony are there to help.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Steve Rogers, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 18
Kudos: 175





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Tool (To Save Yourself)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15914826) by [josywbu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/josywbu/pseuds/josywbu). 



> First fic for this fandom, so please be gentle :) This was inspired by A Tool (To Save Yourself) by josywbu because I loved the concept of Tony making a stuffed toy with all these features to help Peter out when he has nightmares. So I decided I wanted to put my own spin on it. What I intended it to be was an IronDad story with a touch of Stony, but there ended up being more Stony than I had planned. But Peter is the catalyst for everything that happens, even if he's not in the chapter.

Tony Stark was awakened from his sleep by FRIDAY's voice.

“Boss, Nightmare Protocols have been activated.”

Tony felt Steve stir beside him in their bed. Despite having spent seven decades asleep while in the ice, Steve’s soldier’s training still made him somewhat of a light sleeper. Tony propped himself up.

“What’s the situation, Fri?”

“Peter’s heart & respiratory rates are elevated & he has been tossing in his sleep. He has also been calling for you.”

“On my way.” Tony would sometimes wait for a brief time to see if Peter could calm himself down, depending on how serious the situation was, but if he was calling out for Tony, then there was no question that Tony would go to him.

“Tell FRIDAY to let me know how he is, and if you need me.” Steve said as Tony got up, sounding more awake than anyone should at this hour.

“You’ll be the first to know,” Tony said as he left.

Peter was staying the weekend at the Avengers Compound, and not for the first time. It allowed him to hone his skills as Spider-man by training with the Avengers, as well as spend time with his mentor Tony. Tony certainly hadn’t planned on letting the Spider-kid get so close when he first recruited Peter, but despite Tony’s initial efforts to try and keep the kid at arm’s length, they became drawn to each other. Tony promised himself he would be there for the kid in the way his own father never was.

Unfortunately, the superhero lifestyle was prone to some traumatic experiences, which Peter was not immune to. This could sometimes lead to nightmares, so Tony had long ago programmed the Nightmare Protocol into FRIDAY to alert him when Peter was having one.

Peter's room at the Compound was not too far down the hall from the room Tony shared with Steve. Tony’s opened the door to Peter’s room and quietly walked inside. The room was dark, but Tony could see a little thanks to the low ambient lighting coming from the hallway, and he could tell that Peter was distressed. At the moment Peter was still, but he had a pained expression on his face, even in sleep.

“Mr Stark…Tony…we won…please no…not again.” Peter was starting to whimper. It wasn’t the first time Tony had found Peter like this, but it never failed to make Tony’s heart clench.

Tony sat on the edge of the bed and squeezed Peter’s shoulder. “Pete, hey kid, wake up, it’s just a dream.” Peter was still in the throes of whatever torment his mind had conjured up. Tony resorted to gently shaking Peter’s shoulder. “C’mon, kid, whatever it is, it’s not real, I promise.” He shook Peter’s shoulder again and the kid’s eyes opened. He took a second to realize where he was, and his gaze fell on Tony.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter said hopefully.

“Hey, kiddo.”

“This, this is real, right? You’re really here?”

“I should think so, or else we’ve got a whole different set of problems. You want to tell me what that was about, Spiderling?”

Tony wasn’t sure if Peter would be willing to open up to him, as Peter was sometimes afraid of causing worry and seeming like a burden. Peter stared at him and at first Tony thought this would be one of those times where he would try to brush it off as nothing, until Peter surged forward and wrapped his arms around Tony. Tony returned the hug and felt Peter start to cry against him. Tony started to brush his fingers through the kid’s hair, as that often helped him calm down.

“Shhh, it’s okay, kid, it’s okay.” It took a few minutes, with Tony continuing to murmur reassurances, but eventually Peter stopped crying and pulled away slightly.

“Mr. Stark, it felt so real!”, Peter said as he started to ramble, “We were all battling Thanos, only wasn’t on Titan, it was here at the Compound, but the Compound was destroyed. You used the Infinity Stones yourself to beat him, but it was too much power and it-it killed you, Mr. Stark. I watched you-the arc reactor in your suit went out and I-I watched you die in front of me and I couldn’t stop it,” Then Peter got very quiet. “Just like Uncle Ben.”

“Oh, Peter,” Tony said sympathetically as he held his Spider-kid closer. It had taken the combined effort of nearly every hero they knew, and even a few that they didn’t, fighting on multiple fronts in order to defeat Thanos and stop him before he was able to use the Infinity Stones to wipe out half the universe. Tony couldn’t even fathom what the world would have been like had they failed. “I’m right here, kid. I’m not going anywhere.” Tony continued to reassure Peter, not letting go until he felt Peter start to pull away.

“Feeling better, Underoos?” Peter nodded and went to lay back down. Tony started to get up, but Peter grabbed his hand and asked “Stay?”

Tony knew that for Peter to admit to needing his presence that the kid must still be pretty shook up.

“Sure thing, kid. Move over.” Peter shifted over to the other side of the bed to make room for Tony. He laid down and Peter latched himself to Tony’s side. Tony brought his arms around his kid and drew him close.

“FRIDAY, let Steve know that Peter’s alright, and that I’ll be staying with him for tonight.”

“Right away, Boss.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Tony's away, it's up to Steve to help Peter when he's haunted by nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter that's teased about in the summary ;) It's purely Steve & Peter, because I love it when they interact.

“Captain Rogers, Nightmare Protocols have been activated.”

It was summer break, and Peter was spending most of his weekends at the Compound. Tony was currently away on a business trip for Stark Industries, so FRIDAY alerted Steve of Peter’s distress.

“How is he doing, FRIDAY?”

“Peter has an elevated heart rate and has been crying out in his sleep.”

At this, Steve got up and made his way to Peter’s room. When he got to Peter’s door, he knocked it gently first before going in. 

“Peter?” He asked quietly as he came in, a little unsure of himself. This was the first time Steve was handling this alone. When he got close to the bed, Steve saw that Peter’s face was twisted, almost as if in pain, and he was whimpering in his sleep. Steve knelt by the bed and put his hand on Peter’s shoulder, giving it a little shake. Peter must’ve been about to wake himself up, because his eyes shot open and he let out a gasp. He reoriented himself to his surroundings and looked at Steve.

“Captain Rogers?”

“Hey there, Queens. How are you doing? Seems like whatever it was must’ve been pretty intense”

Peter seemed hesitant, as if he was trying to figure out how best to answer the question. When it came to Steve, he knew that while Peter was mostly comfortable around him, there was still a touch of hero worship there that made Peter reluctant to appear vulnerable in front of Captain America.

It may have been sheer force of will on Peter’s part, but he had mostly calmed himself down. “I’m fine. Sorry for waking you.”

“It’s no trouble, Peter. Trust me, I’m no stranger to this kind of thing. Did you want to talk about it?”

“Mmm…not really. If I don’t have to, I mean.”

“No, you don’t have to. Are you gonna be alright? If you need me to stay here, I’m fine with sleeping on the floor.”

It seemed like Peter wanted to take Steve up on his offer, but then he shook his head. “No, that’s okay. I’ll be fine. Thank you, though.”

Steve still felt like he should do something more. Then an idea popped in into his head. “I know something that might help you out. I’ll be back in a minute, ok?”

Peter nodded and Steve went back to his and Tony’s room. He grabbed his Iron Man teddy bear off the bed. Tony had gotten it for him a while ago, presumably as a joke, and for the most part the bear stayed tucked away on Steve’s side of their walk-in closet. However, the first time Tony was away after that, Steve found himself haunted by his own memories and took the bear out, wanting to hold on to something other than Tony’s pillow. Since then, Steve usually slept with the bear whenever Tony wasn’t there. He never told Tony about this, as admittedly he was a little embarrassed. He was also pretty sure that Tony didn’t even realize he still had it.

Peter was still awake when Steve returned, and he called for FRIDAY to turn up the lights just enough to see. Peter eyed the bear in Steve’s hands.

“I am almost 17, I’m not a little kid.” Peter said defensively.

Steve figured he’d better hurry up & explain himself before his idea de-railed. “Well, technically I turned 100 last week.” He said with a smirk. “You don’t have to take it, but I’ve found that it helps when you don’t want to be alone.”

“Captain America sleeps with a teddy bear??”

“Not all the time. But Captain America is still susceptible to fear and loneliness just like anyone else. And none of that makes you childish, Peter.”

As Peter considered that, Steve tried for one more selling point. “You know if you squeeze it, its arc reactor lights up for 30 seconds.” Steve had FRIDAY turn off the lights and he squeezed the bear so the only illumination in the room was the soft blue glow of the bear’s arc reactor. This seemed to finally persuade Peter and he took the bear from Steve’s grasp.

“Thank you, Steve” Peter called out as Steve was making his way back to the door. Steve paused at that. He could count on one hand the number of times Peter called him by his first name. Perhaps Peter saw a little less of Captain America and a little more of Steve Rogers in that moment.

“You’re welcome, Peter.” Steve replied and went back to his own room.

Things were quiet the rest of the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This could have ended right here, but my brain had other plans lol. I do love the "Papa Steve" trope, but for my purposes I wanted to show that he & Peter weren't quite there yet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finds out about Steve's Iron Man bear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next are primarily Stony, but Peter won't be far from their minds. IronDad will return, though, I promise! ;)

The next morning Steve went out for a run and was returning to the compound when FRIDAY alerted him.

“Captain Rogers, you asked me to inform you when Boss returned.”

Steve brightened at this. “Thanks, FRIDAY. Where is he?”

“Boss is currently in your bedroom.”

Steve passed through the communal kitchen to grab some water before going to find Tony. Peter was there as well, apparently making himself breakfast. He was busy putting some kind of cinnamon/sugar spread on slices of bread and putting them in the toaster oven.

“Morning, Captain Rogers.” Peter seemed to be in good spirits, so hopefully he wasn’t feeling insecure about the night before.

“Good morning, Peter. Did you sleep well?”

“I did after you left.” Peter said, sounding a little embarrassed. “Thanks for, you know, helping me out last night. Sorry I woke you up.”

“You don’t have to apologize for anything, Peter. I’m glad I was able to help. I’m guessing my strategy worked?” Steve decided to be discreet, as there was always a chance someone could walk in. Or be crawling through the vents.

“Yeah, actually, it did. Uh, I didn’t know where you kept it, so I just put it back on your bed.”

On his bed. In the bedroom. Where Tony currently was. Steve had a feeling he was about to have an awkward conversation very soon. He wanted to go and confront the situation but outwardly he betrayed none of what he was thinking.

“Well if you ever need it again, you’re welcome to borrow it.”

“I’ll remember that, thanks.”

With that, Steve forgot about the water he initially came into the kitchen for and left to go find Tony. Maybe Tony didn’t even notice. There were always a million things vying for his attention, after all.

* * *

“Tony?” Steve called as he entered their bedroom. He noticed the bear sitting on his pillow.

“In here!” Tony called back from their walk-in closet. Steve started to make his way over as Tony was coming out, having already changed out of his business suit into a basic black t-shirt and jeans. 

“Well hello, Captain,” Tony said in a sultry voice, meeting him in the middle of the room. Tony reached up and put his arms around Steve’s neck, giving him a kiss, which Steve eagerly returned, his hands around Tony’s waist. For a few minutes, Steve forgot about his potential embarrassment.

“I’ve missed you, Tony,” Steve gasped out as they came up for air.

“Oh yeah?” Tony said with a teasing grin on his face. “Looks to me like you had some company.” He jerked his head toward the Iron Man teddy bear on Steve’s pillow. “I don’t know whether I should be touched or jealous.”

Steve sighed. Of course Tony noticed it was there. “I can explain that. Peter was having nightmares last night and even though he said he didn’t need me to stay, I could tell he didn’t want to be alone. So, I let him borrow the bear for the night. That’s just where he put it when he returned it.”

At the mention of Peter, Tony’s expression softened. “I assume it helped. I just saw him in the kitchen a few minutes ago and he looked rested.”

“He was shaken up at the time but didn’t want to talk about it. After I gave him the bear FRIDAY didn’t alert me again so I’m guessing it worked.”

“Good to hear. Thanks for being there for him. I’m sorry I couldn’t be here.”

Wanting to stave off any potential Tony Stark Guilt™, which he was particularly prone to when it came to Peter, Steve was quick to reassure him. “You have nothing to apologize for, Tony. The important thing is that it helped him calm down.”

“Right, of course. I’ll be honest,” Tony said as they broke apart, “I didn’t even know you still had it. I thought maybe you had donated it or something. I’m surprised you didn’t just let the kid keep it.”

“Well yeah, I could have…” Steve trailed off. _But I still use it_ , he thought to himself. He felt the heat start to rush to his cheeks. Tony looked at him with hungry eyes.

“What are you trying to do to me, Steve?? You know I have a hard time resisting you when you blush like that. What are you blushing about, anyway?”

Guess it was time for the whole truth. Tony could make whatever teasing remarks he was going to make and hopefully that would be the end of it. It wasn’t like Tony was going to think any less of him because of it. “I didn’t give it to him to keep because I still sleep with it sometimes,” Steve blurted out before he could change his mind.

* * *

Tony stared at Steve as his mind tried to process what he was just told. “Seriously? Because now’s your chance to change that story.”

“Look, when you’re not here, if you’re on a business trip or whatever, I sometimes have trouble…sleeping alone. Peter’s not the only one around here who gets nightmares, after all.”

Tony had a teasing quip right on the tip of his tongue, but then Steve had said all _that_ and looked at him with that earnest face of his. He let out a sigh. “Well, since we’re being so honest and open with each other, I guess it’s only fair that I bare my soul too. FRIDAY, enable the Santa’s Toy Shop Protocol.” A panel slid back along the wall across from their bed. Tony went to stand in front of it so Steve wouldn’t be able to see what was inside right away. He reached in and pulled out a Captain America teddy bear and tossed it to Steve. “You and Peter don’t have a monopoly on sleeping issues, y’know.”

Tony watched Steve’s eyes widen as he looked at the bear. “Tony-what? How long have you had this?”

Tony tried to appear as nonchalant as possible. “I got it at the same time I got yours. They were limited edition, and I figured what the hell, right? Might be good for a laugh”.

Steve was looking amused. “It’s even got a little shield.”

“That was a separate accessory, but let’s face it, it wouldn’t have been complete without it.” Tony was starting to feel awkward and did his best maintain confident demeanor. A part of him felt stupid for feeling this way. It was just Steve after all, not a Senate hearing. “And to save us both from an emotional conversation I know I’m not mentally prepared for, I’m assuming we were both doing this for similar reasons.” Tony hadn’t even had any coffee since the flight back and he was definitely not equipped to talk about feelings right now.

Steve luckily was just as willing to let the subject drop. “I’d say that’s a correct assumption.” He let out a nervous laugh. “God, we’re a pair.”

“No argument there. Well, not that this hasn’t been heartwarming, but I think it’s time I put it back.” Tony went to take the bear from Steve’s hands and put it back in the alcove in the wall, the panel sliding back in place automatically.

“Thank you, Tony.” Steve said with a sincere tone in his voice.

“For what?”

“For opening up to me. I know that wasn’t easy for you.”

Tony gave a dismissive sniff. They were still teetering on the edge of a feelings talk, so he did his best to deflect, his eyes looking anywhere but at Steve. “Yeah, well, I mean, who cares, right?”

“Right.”

“We were both being silly.”

“Agreed.”

Tony’s eyes fell on the Iron Man bear that was still on Steve’s pillow. His expression turned thoughtful, and as he went to pick it up, the gears in his genius mind started to turn.

“I know that look Tony. You coming up with something?”

“Always. Mind if I borrow this for a bit?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies to anyone who wanted Steve & Tony to have a deep heart-to-heart. I wanted to keep things light. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve finds Tony working on some upgrades for Peter, but not with the Spider-man suit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As stated before, this was inspired by A Tool (To Save Yourself) by josywbu because I loved the concept of Tony making a stuffed toy with all these features to help Peter out when he has nightmares. So this chapter is my take on that. Still just Steve & Tony in this chapter but Peter is the catalyst for all this.

A few days later, Tony was in his workshop, Black Sabbath blaring from the speakers, fully engrossed in his latest project. Peter was back home for the week, giving Tony the opportunity to work on said project, as he intended it to be a surprise for the kid. He didn’t notice that someone else had entered until his music was automatically turned down to a much quieter level. Tony had only programmed that to happen for two people who had especially sensitive hearing. Considering Peter wasn’t at the compound, that left only one other option.

“Good morning, beloved,” Tony called out before he looked up and caught Steve grinning.

“Afternoon, actually.” Steve came bearing sandwiches. “I was bringing you something to eat since you’ve been here all day and I know you’ve probably lived off nothing but coffee and that bagel you scarfed down 6 hours ago. What are you working on? Suit upgrades?” Steve found a relatively clear space on the opposite of the table to set the plate of food down.

“Upgrades, yes. But not to the suit.”

Steve came around to stand beside him. “Uh, what are you doing to Little Tony?” Steve said, spouting out the bear’s name without thinking. Tony had what used to be an Iron Man teddy bear, face down on the table. It had been split open down the back, with most of the stuffing removed. It was surrounded by wires, LED lights, and computer chips.

Tony sat back and blinked. “Okay, a couple things. First of all, this isn’t yours. Yours is back in our closet. Secondly, ‘Little Tony’?”

“Yes, why, what’s the matter with that?” Steve asked defensively.

“I gotta say that’s a little insensitive. If mean if he’s anything like me, he probably doesn’t want to be reminded of his height.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Steve said jokingly. “What do you call yours, anyway?”

“I didn’t give it a name.” Tony replied, a little too quickly.

Steve looked at him incredulously. “You don’t expect me to believe that do you? You give names to everything, as well as several nicknames.”

Knowing Steve wouldn’t let this go until he got an answer, Tony gave in. “Its name is Captain Spangles, all right? And if you breathe a word of that to anyone, you’ll be sleeping on the couch for at least the next 6 months.”

Steve didn’t even bother to hide his amusement. Tony didn’t know whether he wanted to slap the smug grin off his face or kiss it. In the end he did neither.

“I won’t say a word, Tony, I promise.” Steve said, wisely choosing to drop the subject. “So, if it’s not mine, whose is it? I thought you said those were limited edition.”

“It is a limited edition. I didn’t say it was unattainable. You’d be surprised how much these things are going for online.” He did pay quite a bit for just a stuffed animal, but it wasn’t he like he couldn’t afford it. “After you told me what happened with Peter last week, I thought I would take your idea and add to it.”

“So this is for Peter?”

“Well, it sure isn’t for Barton. I’m adding some custom features that are going to make this even better. Like, for instance, not only will the arc reactor light up, but the eyes will light up too.” Tony picked up the right paw “Squeeze this, and it’ll play one of 25 encouraging phrases that I’ve pre-recorded. And none of that clichéd “follow your dreams” stuff, but suited specifically for him.”

“25 phrases?”

“Well I was gonna go with 50, but I thought that might be overdoing it.” Tony grabbed the other paw. “Squeeze this one, and it’ll connect right to FRIDAY who will then contact me, which will come in handy when he’s not at the Compound.”

“Couldn’t he just call you?”

“Yeah, but why not give him another option to contact me? Depending on where his phone is and if it’s charged, this could be even faster. And there’s also a few other features that I’m toying with.”

“Y’know, I didn’t really picture you as a toy maker.” Steve said with a smirk.

Tony dismissed him with a wave. “Please, I’m a genius. I spend my time designing suits and weapons for superheroes, not to mention all the tech improvements I come up with for SI. You think I can’t handle a stuffed bear?”

“I have every confidence in you,” Steve said earnestly as he leaned over and kissed Tony on the temple. “This is a good thing you’re doing.” 

Tony decided to forgo any flippant remarks and responded to that with every bit of seriousness. “He’s my kid. As much as it pains me to say it, I know I’m not always gonna be able to protect him. But I’ll do whatever’s necessary to make sure he feels safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I decided on bear names, I wanted them as goofy sounding as possible :D And yes, I pulled the "Good morning, beloved" line straight from the comics. Tony & Peter interaction will return in the last chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gives Peter the project he'd been working on to help the kid with his nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you to everyone who commented, left kudos, and bookmarked this, that really means a lot! Secondly, we have the return of Tony & Peter interaction! Yay!

“Hey, Mr. Stark!” Peter greeted as he came into Tony’s workshop, eager to spend time with his mentor. It was a few weeks later, and Peter had returned to spend the weekend at the Compound. 

Tony looked up with surprise. “Pete, what are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you till this evening.”

“It’s like, almost dinnertime,” Peter said as he made his way over to Tony. “It already is evening.”

“Is it? Dammit, I must have lost track of time. I feel like I just got here.” He had gone to the workshop shortly after breakfast to work on upgrades for his armor and the work binge had left him unaware of the outside world for hours. “Well anyway, let me be the first to say happy birthday,” clapping Peter on the shoulder. Peter’s birthday was the next day, and Tony had planned a party for him at the Compound. “While I do have things to give you on your actual birthday, there is something I wanted to give to you now.”

“You have a gift for me now?” Peter said, surprised. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just give them all to me at once?”

“Oh so you don’t want it?”

“No, I want it!”

“Now how do you know you want it?” Tony teased, “I could potentially be giving you something you’ll hate.”

Peter couldn’t take it anymore. “C’mon Mr. Stark, you can’t just tease me with a present and not give it to me!”

“Alright, calm down, kid.” Tony went to the other side of the room and pulled out a Spider-Man gift bag from where he stowed it behind another table. He knew Peter got a kick out of seeing his own merchandise.

“Whoa, I’m on a gift bag!”

Tony smirked. “Better than seeing yourself on novelty toilet paper, trust me.”

Peter looked slightly embarrassed. “Actually, that already exists.”

“Spider-Man toilet paper? Give me ten minutes with my lawyers and it’ll be off the shelves by the end of the week.”

Peter shrugged it off. “That’s ok, Mr. Stark. I don’t really care. And it is kinda funny. I mean, it’s not like it’s my actual face on there, right?”

Tony made a mental note to get in touch with his lawyers anyway. “Good point. Now c’mon, we’re not here to discuss merchandising rights.”

Peter reached in the bag and pulled out the Iron Man teddy bear Tony had been working on. He had finished doing all the upgrades to it late last night, in an effort to get it done before Peter’s birthday.

“You’re giving me Captain Rogers’ teddy bear?” Peter asked in confusion.

“No it’s not Cap’s. This one is yours, complete with some additional modifications.”

Peter looked at it with an unreadable expression, not saying anything. Tony never knew what to make of a quiet Peter, but usually it wasn’t good.

“Talk to me, kid. You know it makes me nervous when you’re silent.” Tony’s own nervousness made him start to ramble. “You don’t like it? I can change it. Different animal? Different Avenger? I knew I should have picked Thor. It’ll be a blow to my ego, sure-“

“No, it’s not that,” Peter interrupted. “I do like it, honest. It’s just…” He paused unsure of how to continue without saying the wrong thing.

Luckily, Tony could get an idea of why Peter was feeling insecure. “Okay, I’m gonna cut in right there. It’s not because I see you as a little kid or because I’m tired of dealing with you, or whatever you might be thinking right now. I’m not expecting that you’ll want to have it all the time, but I made it to help you out. When Steve told me about the nightmare you had while I was gone- “

“He told you about that??” Peter asked, clearly mortified.

“Well, in his defense I saw the bear you left in our bedroom and I asked him about it. I would have asked about you anyway, because it’s important to me to know how you’re doing. Anyway, when Steve told me about that, I figured I would take his idea and expand on it.” Peter still seemed like he wanted to protest, so Tony pressed on. “Did Cap tell you how he got his?”

Peter shook his head. “No. Did he buy it?”

Tony gestured to himself. “I bought it for him. And Captain America’s not the only one who has one.” Tony got up again and pulled out his own bear from where he had it hidden underneath the table. “Ironman has one too.” Tony didn’t think Peter’s already large eyes could get bigger, but they were as wide as saucers.

“What, really?”

“Yeah really. And if you need it sometimes to make you feel safer, there’s no shame in that.”

Peter seemed to relax at that, almost as if he needed to hear Tony say it. “That’s kinda what Captain Rogers said.”

“Well, I’d listen to him. He may not have a genius IQ, but he’s still pretty smart.”

Peter eyed the bear again. “Thanks, Mr. Stark,” he said with genuine appreciation.

“Don’t mention it, Pete.” Tony grinned, ruffling the kid’s hair. “And hey, I haven’t even shown you what it can do yet. I spent too much time working on this not to show it off.”

* * *

After Peter had returned home for the start of the new school year, both Tony & Steve were woken up by the sound of FRIDAY’s voice.

“Boss, the IronDad Protocol has been activated.”

“IronDad Protocol?” Tony muttered to himself, sounding confused. “I don’t have anything called the IronDad Protocol. Wait a sec, FRIDAY, put him through to my phone.”

Tony picked up his phone from the side table and while Steve’s enhanced hearing would be able to pick up Peter’s voice on the other end, he focused instead on the one-sided conversation coming from Tony.

“Hey Spiderling,” Tony greeted, “...It’s alright, it was just a dream…Shhh, it’s okay. C’mon breathe with me…That’s it, kid. You want to tell me what it was about?…I’m sorry…I never should have taken your suit away…Well I think now we both know better. You need me there? Just say the word, I’ll activate the suit and be there in less than 15 minutes…Yeah, you’re right, May would definitely not appreciate being woken up that way. So, IronDad, huh?...No, I actually like it. I should put it on a T-shirt…You feeling better?...Good. If you need me again, I’m here… No, no, no apologizing. I added that feature for you to use it…Alright, goodnight, Underoos.”

Tony put the phone back and Steve rolled over, spooning Tony and putting his arm around the other man’s chest. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s good now. Sorry, I should have gone to another room.”

“It’s fine, Tony. Or should I say IronDad?”

Tony huffed out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, that’s what Peter decided to call it when he contacts FRIDAY with that bear. Told you that feature would come in handy.”

“IronDad. I like it,” Steve said as he snuggled closer “It suits you.” Even in the dark, even at the angle Steve was at, he could still tell Tony was smiling at that.

“Yeah, it does have a nice ring to it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Peter's nightmare most likely has to do with a collapsed building. And yes, by using it as a protocol name for FRIDAY, Peter is indirectly calling Tony "dad' without actually coming right out and saying it


End file.
